1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to systems and methods for managing customer communications over communication channels.
2. Description of the Related Art
Companies, marketing services, debt collection agencies, etc. often employ the services of auto-dialers in order to market new products to current and potential customers. There are generally two modes of using auto-dialers: “predictive” mode and “preview” mode. In predictive mode, the dialer attempts to predict the probability a customer will answer the phone in order to maximize the number of outbound call attempts made in any given period. To do this, the dialer automatically calls several numbers in advance and transfers calls to agents only when a “live” person answers the call. This type of dialing eliminates busy signals, answering machines, etc. and minimizes agent downtime.
In preview mode, however, the dialer displays contact information to an agent before placing the call. The agent is given control over the system and can decide when a call is to be placed to a recipient. If a person answers, the agent is linked to the customer immediately.